Freaks in Love
by Lahdolphin
Summary: Burgers. Coca-Cola. Tennis. Fears. Pets. Sleepovers. Stress. 'Just friends.' Lego blocks. Video games. Stupid siblings. Crushes. Mario and Luigi pillows. Childhood toys. Kisses. Secrets. They're really just freaks in love... sort of.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own a companies (Nintendo, Facebook, etc...), food chains, books, movies, songs, etc… mentioned in this fic. I am by no means profiting from writing this piece.**

**Warning: Shonen-ai (light male/male), some language, homophobia (kinda-sorta; it's really complicated), the slight possibility of violence, etc…**

**Note: This is a side story to my other story **_**Geeks in Love**_**. You do not need to read that story to read this story. This story actually starts before **_**Geeks in Love**_**, so Niou and Marui are not together.**

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- 1 -**

Akaya liked to think that he was honest. He told people almost everything about himself. Key word: almost. There were some things that Akaya liked to keep a secret. Like how he still played with legos, or how he didn't really like playing those gory video games – he would much rather be playing Super Mario Galaxy or Zelda than Call of Duty.

But if told anyone that, it would ruin the fun of having a secret that only he knew.

Akaya was sitting at a booth in a small dinner, and Yukimura was sitting across from him. The jukebox was playing some old American song, and occasionally a young group of girls would go up and change it.

"So, Akaya," Yukimura said, grabbing his burger, "how are your studies?"

"You always ask that," Akaya said, taking a long sip of his soda. Coca-Cola was amazing.

"Because you're answer always changes."

Akaya shrugged, setting down his cup. He grabbed a fry and popped it into his mouth. "They're okay, I guess."

"What's that supposed to mean? You're failing, you're okay, or you're above average?"

Yukimura has always had a special interest in Akaya, mostly because Akaya was going to be the one to replace him as captain, and he couldn't have a captain who's ineligible to participate in tournaments because they're failing half their classes. Yukimura wanted to leave behind a good legacy.

"I'm passing everything," Akaya said. "But my English grade is a little low."

"But you're still passing?"

"Yes, Buchou, I'm still passing," Akaya said with a sigh.

Yukimura smiled and stole a few of Akaya's fries. "Good."

"Buchou!" Akaya whined. "Those are mine."

Yukimura sighed and looked at the five or fries in his hand. He set them on his plate, picked one up, and put it by Akaya's mouth.

"Say 'ah'," Yukimura said, moving the fry like a plane.

"I'm not a baby," Akaya mumbled.

"I'll play tennis with you this weekend."

Akaya's mouth opened up to form a giant 'o,' which was rather hard because he couldn't stop smiling. Yukimura smiled back, and fed his kohai his fry.

"So," Yukimura continued, "why is your English grade so low?"

Yukimura's other reason for taking a special interest in Akaya was because Akaya was simply Akaya, and Yukimura couldn't help but care about him.

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**A/N: Urgh. Why am I starting another story?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 2 -**

Yukimura was sitting on the bed in Yanagi's bedroom, both silently reading a book for their history class, when his phone rang.

"Hello?" Yukimura answered, pressing the phone between his shoulder and his ear.

"Buchou, where are you?"

Yukimura furrowed his brow. He covered the speaker to the phone as he turned to look at Yanagi who was sitting at his desk. "Renji, did I make plans with Akaya?"

Yanagi thought for a moment, never looking away from his book. "No. But there is an eighty percent chance that Akaya-kun thinks you two have made plans, when nothing was officially set up."

Yukimura nodded. "Akaya," Yukimura said, uncovering the speaker, "where are you?"

There was a pause. "At the street courts we play at. You said you would play tennis with me this weekend! It's this weekend, and I wanna play tennis!"

Yukimura sighed. He did care for his kohai deeply, but sometimes that boy drove him up a wall.

"Akaya, I only said that to get you to open your mouth." Yanagi raised an eyebrow. Yukimura gave him a look.

"But Buchou," Akaya whined. He was even wearing his I'm-serious-about-this-match-even-though-it's-not-official clothes.

Yukimura sighed again. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

.

"Game and match," Yukimura said, smashing the ball right between Akaya's legs. "I win again."

Akaya dropped his racquet, panting to catch his breath. He managed to walk up to the net and shake Yukimura's hand. "But I got a game from you," Akaya said proudly.

Yukimura smiled, taking Akaya's hand in his. He was sweating terribly, Yukimura noticed. Yukimura wasn't used to having Akaya play with such skill so he was surprised when Akaya took the first game; after that, Yukimura might have played a little too harshly.

"Yes, you did. Come on, let's go get some burgers."

.

The two went to their regular place, got their regular orders, and sat in their regular booth. Yukimura gave Akaya his pickles, and Akaya gave Yukimura his tomato.

"You know," Yukimura said, twirling a fry between his fingers, "my sister came up with a Burger Theory."

"Bhac is ic?" Akaya asked after taking a huge bite from his burger. Translation: what is it?

Yukimura smiled as Akaya covered his mouth – the boy had a bad habit of talking with his mouth full. "Well, she has a boy friend –"

"Em-chan has a boyfriend?" Akaya cut in.

Yukimura ate his fry. "No, just a boy who's a friend. She's too young to date."

"She's twelve, right?" Akaya asked, picking up his soda.

Yukimura nodded. "Yes. Anyways, she and her friend go out to get burgers after swim meets, and Emiko doesn't like onions, but her friend does. Since she can just give him her onions, she says they balance each other out. That's the Burger Theory."

"I jon't het it." His mouth was full. Again. Translation: I don't get it.

"Well, think about it. You like pickles, I don't. I like tomatoes, you don't. We even each other out."

"I still don't get it."

Yukimura just smiled. "She said that the Burger Theory means two people are really good friends."

"So we're good friends?"

"According to the Burger Theory we are."

Akaya smiled. Yukimura smiled back.

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**A/N: I got the idea from "How I Met Your Mother." Only, in that show, they used the Olive Theory, and it was for couples, not friends. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 3 -**

There was just something about being outside that relaxed Yukimura. Maybe it was the sky, maybe it was the grass underneath him, or maybe it was his lengthy hospital visit, or perhaps it was the fresh air – whatever it was, Yukimura Seiichi enjoyed being outside with a cold glass of coke, his oil pastels, and a good friend.

"Buchou, it's hot," Akaya whined. "And I think your cat is trying to eat a butterfly."

Yukimura looked away from his sketch – it had been of a yellow butterfly on a purple flower, and it was coming along quite nicely, if he did say so himself – and spotted his little, white cat by a rose bush.

Yukimura giggled when saw that his cat was indeed swatting at a butterfly in some attempt to catch it. "She's a hoot."

"She's a meow," Akaya corrected.

Yukimura furrowed his brow, turning his attention towards the boy sitting in the grass next to him. "The expression is 'he's a hoot.' My cat is female, so I said 'she's a hoot.'"

"But owls go 'hoot' and cats go 'meow.' Shouldn't your cat be a meow?"

"You're a –" Yukimura frowned. "What do humans do then?"

"Hoot," Akaya told him. "You know, hoot and holler. I'm a hoot, Buchou."

"But you're not an owl," Yukimura said. Akaya had been blessed with the wonderful talent of confusing people.

"But I'm a human," Akaya said, rolling onto his back, "and humans 'hoot!'"

"You said _owls_ 'hoot!'"

Akaya sighed. "You're impossible, Buchou."

Yukimura shook his head with a smile and went back to his drawing. Akaya frowned when Yukimura didn't say anything back – he came over to talk, not be ignored while Yukimura drew. Upset, and oddly jealous of the butterfly his captain was drawing, Akaya crawled over to the purple plant.

"Draw me," Akaya said, pointing to his face. His smile was so wide his eyes were closed, and his teeth were showing.

"Okay. Don't move," Yukimura said, turning the page of his notebook.

"Eh? But Buchou –"

"Stay. Still."

If Akaya wanted to be drawn, he was going to have sit there with that stupid smile until he finished.

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**A/N: My mom always says "She's a hoot!" about my best friend. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 4 -**

"Buchou," Akaya said on one of their walks home. Most people thought Yukimura walked home with Sanada and Yanagi, but they lived on the other side of town, and Akaya was only a few minutes away from his captain's house, so they two usually walked home together.

"What is it, Akaya?"

Akaya put his hands behind his head, lacing his fingers together. "Do you want to spend the night at my house since we don't have practice tomorrow morning? My mom's making eel tonight."

"Sure, just let me call my parents," Yukimura said, fishing his phone out of his pocket.

.

"We don't need any more tea, Mom!" Akaya yelled as they went upstairs to his room. Yukimura giggled softly and stopped outside of Akaya's room. Yukimura, no matter how many time's he's been in someone's house or bedroom, did not enter uninvited.

"Just put your bag by the desk," Akaya said, opening up the door. He was immediately greeted by his small beagle, Sho, and happily picked him up. Akaya set his bag down, and then set down on his bed, gently petting his dog to make him calm down.

Yukimura set his bag down gently, pulled the chair out from the desk, and sat down next to Akaya's bed. He was close enough to reach out and pet Sho's head, and the dog eagerly licked at his fingers.

"So why'd you invite me over all of the sudden? Did you get a new video game?" Yukimura asked, pulling his hand back.

Akaya shrugged. "No reason, I just wanted to hang out. Do you wanna play a video game? Oh, I know, we could watch that zombie movie where the guy cuts off the heads of the –"

"You hate gore," Yukimura cut in, once again giving into Sho's cuteness as he reached his hand out. He was a sucker for cute, little dogs.

"But _you _like that stuff," Akaya said, frowning when Sho jumped out of his lap to run around the chair Yukimura was sitting in.

Yukimura smiled, leaned down, picked the dog up, and looked back at Akaya. "Why don't we do your English homework first?"

Akaya groaned.

.

The two were laughing as they lied on the bed shoulder-to-shoulder. Yukimura was holding Akaya's vocabulary cards and had to turn his hands at the most awkward angle so Akaya couldn't see.

"This is a very rudimentary word," Yukimura said.

"Rudi-whatta? I don't remember that word being in the list."

Yukimura laughed. "That wasn't the word. The word is 'tentacle.'"

"Oh." Akaya smiled. "I know that one. It's a protruding appendage, like a penis."

Yukimura curled his lips into his mouth to keep himself from laughing, but he couldn't help it. He dropped the note cards in a fit of hysteric laughter. Akaya was laughing with him, and was nearly crying. Yukimura fell off the bed, waking Sho up from his bed in the corner of the room.

"Shut up!" Naomi, Akaya's older sister, yelled from the room over. The two immediately shut up. "I have a tennis match tomorrow and I need to sleep! Just because you two have off doesn't mean you get to be a-holes about it!"

Yukimura and Akaya exchanged looks, Akaya said, "Tentacle penis," and then they began to laugh some more.

They were guys. Tentacle penises were funny.

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**A/N Is it weird that I'm a girl and think a penis is like a tentacle? **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 5 -**

Today was one of Yukimura's bad days. He wasn't running laps, he was toying with his wrist weights, and he was huffing from the bench.

He usually assigned laps when he was in a bad mood, even to Sanada and Yanagi. (But Yukimura started giving Sanada laps after that thing that happened that you do not mention because Yukimura will kick your ass. AKA: Sanada's loss at Kantou.) Everyone knew to stay away from Yukimura when he was in a bad mood.

Of course, "everyone" didn't include Kirihara Akaya.

"Buchou," Akaya said, walking up to his captain, "I finished my laps."

"You're the first one. It's been awhile since that's happened." Yukimura forced a smile.

"Eh?" Akaya sat down on the bench next to Yukimura, and Yanagi was beginning to wonder if the second year had a death sentence. "You look hot."

Yukimura brushed his sweaty bangs out of his hair. "Just a bit. My hair is really thick and I'm just a little hot."

"Oh, I know!" Akaya slipped his wrist weight off – Yanagi dropped his notebook – and tugged his sleeve up. "Look!"

"What are those?" Yukimura asked, pulling at the colorful bracelets on his junior's wrist.

Akaya pulled them off with a huge grin, and turned so he was straddling the bench. He set his colorful bracelets in-between them, and Yukimura smiled when he realized what they were.

"They're animals," Yukimura said, picking up an orange camel.

Akaya nodded. "Yup. They're rubber bands."

Yukimura set down the camel and picked up a pink seahorse. "And you're showing me these because…?"

"You can use them as hair bands. Take one."

Yukimura smiled and slipped the pink seahorse on his wrist. He quickly pulled his hair back, though his bangs refused to stay in his grip, and slipped and twisted the seahorse into his hair. He pulled his ponytail tight, brushed what was left of his bangs behind his ears, and stood up.

"Thanks," he said, bending down to touch his toes.

Akaya grinned from ear-to-ear, and slipped the rest of his rubber bands onto his wrist.

"Oh, and Akaya," Yukimura said, standing back up straight.

"What is it, Buchou?" Akaya pulled his wrist weight back on.

"Ten laps for taking off your weights."

Akaya frowned and stood up from the bench. "That's not fair, I just finished!"

Yukimura smiled and patted Akaya on the back. "I'll run with you, I need to warm up."

Akaya gave Yukimura another one of his stupid smiles. "And Yanagi-sempai said there was a zero percent chance that you would practice today."

Yukimura began to jog, and as he jogged past Yanagi, he said, "Renji, ten laps for being wrong!"

Akaya tossed his head back and laughed as he began to jog alongside Yukimura.

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**A/N: My school is obsessed with silly bandz. Personally, I don't get the big deal. They're rubber bands, and no one uses them as rubber bands.**

**Side note: I think I have some of the most fucked up/awesome/insane reviewers on this site, and I'm proud of that :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 6 -**

Akaya slammed his hand down on his alarm clock, wishing it would stop blaring. He didn't have practice and he had forgotten to unset his alarm. He rolled around on his bed, trying to get back to sleep. He groaned. Once he was up, he stayed up.

Rolling out of bed, Akaya woke up Sho, and quickly pulled on a pair of black shorts and a sweat shirt. He grabbed his ipod off his dresser and a leash. He attached the leash to Sho's collar, picked up his small down, and hurried downstairs. He went to get on his shoes, but then stopped and went into the kitchen to leave a note.

_Went for a jog with Sho. Be back soon.  
- A._

He stuck the note on the fridge, and then went back to the front door. He set Sho down, quickly put on his tennis shoes, put his headphones in, slipped his ipod into his front pocket, and began to stretch. Sho looked up at him while he touched his toes. After a few more quick stretches, Akaya tied Sho's leash to his wrist, and opened up the door.

"Fuck, it's cold," he hissed, wishing he had worn sweat pants. He pulled his hood up and hurried down his driveway.

"Fuck it's cold, fuck it's cold, holy, holy fuck it's cold," Akaya sang, slowly jogging down the street. He would go faster to warm up, but Sho could barely keep up, and he didn't want to hurt his little buddy.

As he turned the corner, he saw three familiar figures in Rikkai yellow on the other side of the road. Akaya picked his dog up, looked both ways, and sprinted across the street.

"Buchou! Fukubuchou! Sempai!" Akaya had already caught up, but he didn't want to scare the three since he was coming from behind.

The three stopped moving, but continued to jog in place as they turned around. "Akaya," Yukimura said with a smile. He reached out and petted Sho on the head, giggling when the dog licked his fingers.

"Since when do you jog down here?" Akaya asked, looking at Sanada and Yanagi. They lived on the other side of town, and Akaya had never seen them jogging around his neighborhood before.

"Seiichi, Genchirou and I jog together whenever we don't have practice," Yanagi explained.

"Speaking of not having practice," Yukimura mumbled, pulling his hand back and whipping the spit off. "Why are you up so early? You usually sleep in."

"There is a seventy percent chance he forgot to unset his alarm," Yanagi said without thinking.

Akaya grinned. "Yup! Hey, can I jog with you guys? I mean, you might need to slow it down a bit for Sho to keep up, but –"

"Sure," Yukimura said with a smile.

So Akaya put his dog down, and the four slowly jogged with the dog following behind, barking every now and then. Whenever Sho made an odd noise, they would slow down. Sanada made a face that was a mixture between constipation and annoyance.

Yukimura poked Sanada, saying, "Don't make that face. If you want to go faster, run ahead, we'll catch up." So Sanada and Yanagi went ahead, leaving Yukimura and Akaya in their dust. Yukimura frowned. "I didn't think they would actually go ahead."

Akaya shrugged. "Whatever."

So Yukimura and Akaya jogged along, not really saying anything. They were in battle mode, and even if it was just jogging, they didn't care about anything besides reaching their goal. Once they got to the park Yanagi and Sanada asked what took so long. Yukimura gave a snappy, smart ass response, and then turned to Akaya.

"We're going to go to Starbucks, do you want to come?" Yukimura asked.

"Nah, I gotta take Sho home before he gets too cold," Akaya said, holding his beagle against his chest to protect him from the cold air.

"Maybe next time?" Yukimura asked with a hopeful smile.

Akaya nodded. "Yeah, next time."

Yukimura waved goodbye and the three jogged away. When Akaya turned to run back home, but Sho barked a few times, so Akaya sat down to play with him for a minute.

"Sho, do you think I should 'forget' to unset my alarm next week?" Akaya asked, rubbing the dog's belly.

"Rawf." Translation: I can't talk, you stupid human.

Akaya smiled. "Me too."

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**A/N: I love Sho.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 7 -**

"Buchou, what kind of girls do you like?" Akaya asked.

Yukimura tilted his head, giving his junior a rather odd look. "That's an odd question."

Akaya shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets as they continued to walk home from practice. "I mean, a lot of girls confess to you, but you never say yes to any of them. Are you busy or somethin'?"

He shrugged. "I'm not incredibly busy, but I do prefer to spend my free time with friends." He gave Akaya a warm smile that, if viewed by an outsider, would probably have some hidden meaning, but to Akaya was just a smile.

"But you went out with girls last year, didn't you?"

"Why are you asking me these questions? Did another girl confess to you?"

Akaya turned a little red. "N-no. I was just wondering why you say no to them."

Yukimura hummed, thinking for a moment. "Well, I guess I say no because I don't really know those girls. I mean, they're in my class, or I talk to them occasionally on Facebook to ask for homework, but I don't know much about them."

"But a lot of those girls are cute," Akaya pointed out.

"Yeah, but I don't _know_ them. Looks are important, but want to fall in love with my best friend – only they'd be a girl." Yukimura laughed softly. "I guess I just want a girl who I can act like an idiot around. I want a girl who isn't afraid of bugs and isn't a stereotype. I want a girl I don't need to love to hang out with."

"That makes sense, I guess."

"What kind of girl do you want?" Yukimura asked, turning to look at his junior.

"I dunno," Akaya said, swishing his hair out of his eyes. "Funny, smart, nice… Normal stuff, ya know?"

Yukimura nodded. "Normal is good, but I think an abnormal person is more interesting."

"We're all abnormal," Akaya said.

Yukimura smiled, bumping his hip against Akaya's. "Then we're freaks, huh?"

Akaya laughed, bumping Yukimura back. "You know it."

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**A/N: Squirrel.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 8 -**

One night, as Akaya rocked back and forth on his bed, waiting for Yukimura to hurry up, he began to spin his wii remote around his wrist.

"Buchou," Akaya whined. "Hurry up!"

A second later, Yukimura came out of Akaya's bathroom, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He had a toothbrush in his hand and pointed it at Akaya.

"Two more minutes," he said, and then walked back into the bathroom. He poked his head back out two seconds later. "And stop spinning that thing or you'll toss it against the TV again." And then went back into the bathroom. Again.

Akaya frowned and stopped spinning his wii remote. He hit the TV once –it only left a scratch– and now, whenever he spun anything, Yukimura would scold him. It was so unfair. What'd he have to do to get his captain to forget about almost breaking a TV?

Two minutes later, Yukimura came out in his sweat pants and old T-shirt, and sat on the futon Akaya had laid out earlier.

Slipping a wii remote onto his wrist, he looked up at Akaya and grinned. "Super Mario Galaxy or Brawl?"

"Brawl," Akaya said quickly. "Super Mario Galaxy spells out 'UR MR GAY,' and because Brawl is already in there and I don't feel like getting up to change it."

"Laziness is no excuse," Yukimura said as Akaya loaded up the gaming console.

"Then you go put it in," Akaya said, lying down.

Yukimura frowned as he watched Akaya's little pointer hand move across the screen. "But I just sat down," he mumbled.

"Hypocrite."

Yukimura rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop an amused smile from forming on his lips. "Touché, Akaya, touché."

"Touché sounds like tushie," Akaya said, sticking his butt in the air. "You know, like a butt?"

Yukimura kept smiling. "I know what a tushie is, Akaya."

"Tushie, tushie, tushie, tushie," Akaya said in a sing-song voice as he waved his butt in the air. "It's catchy, right?"

"Hurry up and set up the game so I can kick your tushie."

"Tushie, tushie, tushie, tushie~!"

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**A/N: **_**Solar Powered Pandas**_** pointed out Super Mario Galaxy can spell out "****UR MR GAY." I find that amusing.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 9 -**

After practice, the team went into town for their weekly bonding. They could decide practice schedules in a matter of minutes, but deciding on a place to eat is a completely different story.

"I want burgers," Akaya said, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Pizza," Niou and Marui said in unison.

"Sushi," Yagyuu and Jackal said.

"I want ramen," Sanada commented.

Yukimura hummed, looking at Yanagi. "Renji, how long will we spending fighting and where will we end up?"

"We will spend twenty three minutes and forty six point two seconds fighting, and we will more than likely decide on the diner we attend nine out of ten times," Yanagi replied quickly.

Yukimura just smiled. "The diner it is."

.

The staff of the diner gave them horrified looks as they walked through the doors.

"You'd think we were a horde of rabid monkeys about to disembowel them," Yagyuu commented, adjusting his glasses.

"We're teenage boys, what did you expect?" Yukimura asked with a slight giggle as they got into line.

"And we're athletic teenage boys," Marui said, readjusting his tennis bag. "For all they know, we're rabid monkeys about to disembowel them with bazookas."

"That's just ridiculous," Yagyuu said.

Marui rolled his eyes. Leave it to Yagyuu to draw the line at monkeys carrying bazookas.

.

Once they all had their trays piled high with food, they moved towards the booth in the back and somehow managed to cram eight teenage boys into a six person booth.

"Buchou," Akaya drew out, pulling his tomato off his burger. Yukimura handed Akaya his plate, and the junior exchanged his captain's pickles for his tomato. "Thank you," Akaya said, hanging back the plate.

"You're like a burger whore," Niou said as he stuck his fry into his vanilla shake before eating it.

After a few more minutes of harmless teasing and sexual jokes, Yukimura coughed. The table froze.

"Are you okay, Buchou?" Jackal asked, worried.

Yukimura smiled. He loved how everyone freaked out whenever he coughed, even if it was just to get their attention.

"I'm alright," he reassured them. "And on a completely different note –"

"Here we go," Marui mumbled.

"– it's time for another team night."

"Buchou," Akaya whined, "I hate team night."

"I'm with him on this one," Marui said, grabbing one of Jackal's chicken nuggets.

"Yeah, it's kinda lame," Niou agreed.

"We're having a team night. End of story." Yukimura gave Akaya a stern look and then went back to his burger.

Niou shrugged. "Fine, just don't be surprised when my lizard gets set lose during practice again."

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**A/N: Disemboweling monkeys carrying bazookas? I'd pay to see that. Or not. That sounds kind of gross.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 10 -**

At eight, Niou and Marui rang the doorbell.

"Coming!" Akaya yelled, picking up Sho with one hand as he rushed over to the front door. He unlocked it and pulled it open. Niou and Marui were standing outside in their pajamas. Marui was holding two two liter bottles of Mountain Dew, and Niou was holding five pizza boxes. Their sleeping bags were by their feet. How they managed to carry all of that was a mystery.

"Here," Marui said, shoving the bottles into Akaya's free hand. Marui picked up their sleeping bags and rushed inside, immediately heading for Akaya's living room. Niou let himself in, immediately heading for the kitchen so he could set the burning pizza boxes down.

Akaya frowned, closing the door with his foot. "No, please, come in," he mumbled under his breath.

Akaya hated team night.

.

At nine, everyone had their sleeping bags spread out around Akaya's living room.

Niou and Marui were side-by-side ("They're planning something," Yanagi mumbled. "No shit," Jackal said, getting as far away from the two as possible.), Jackal and Yagyuu were as far away from Niou and Marui as possible, Sanada was on the couch, Yanagi was right in front of the couch, and Yukimura and Akaya were side-by-side.

"Akaya," Niou and Marui moaned. "We're bored."

"Well, what do you guys want to do?" Akaya asked, rolling onto his side to grab another slice of pizza. He preferred burgers, but it was team night and everyone (meaning Niou and Marui) loved pizza.

"Do you have sake? We could play never-have-I-ever," Niou said, finishing off a bottle of Mountain Dew.

"I don't know where they keep it," Akaya lied.

"Then how about poker?" Yukimura suggested. He pulled out a deck of cards, and the boys gathered around.

.

At ten, Niou went to the "bathroom" and came back with three bottles of sake.

At first, Akaya told them that it wasn't a good idea. But then Yanagi said, "Akaya's parents and sister are away, so there is only a one point two percent chance that we will be caught." And that was all his team needed to start a drinking game.

They were all sitting on their sleeping bags, sake bottles within reach, with full cups in their hands.

"Okay, here are the rules," Niou said with a devilish grin. "Questions must be asked in the form of, 'Never have I ever done a certain thing, wanted to do a certain thing, seen a certain thing, heard a certain thing, etc...' Everyone who has done the mentioned activity must take a drink."

"Uh," Akaya stuttered.

"What is it, Akaya?" Yukimura asked. He knew Akaya wouldn't want to do this, but it was a team tradition, and it was better for Akaya to get drunk in front of them for the first time instead of in front of the basketball team (horny bastards).

"How much is 'a drink'?" Akaya asked.

"A sip," Yukimura said. "The size of the sip is up to the sipee, but that doesn't mean you can chug half the bottle." He shot Niou a look.

"One time. I did that one time," Niou said.

"Can we start?" Jackal asked impatiently.

Niou looked at Yukimura who nodded. Niou smiled and said, "Never have I ever sized another man up in the shower room."

Marui took a sip (though it was more like a large gulp), then Niou took a sip, and then the rest of them took a sip.

"Never have I ever shown up to practice drunk," Marui said, looking straight at Niou.

Niou took a sip, Marui took a sip, and Yukimura glared at them both.

"Never have I ever cheated during poker," Sanada said, looking at Yukimura.

Yukimura took a long sip (it's not his fault Yanagi was so damn good at poker), and a few other boys followed.

"Never have I ever had a wet dream about anyone at school, teachers included," Yanagi said.

Niou and Marui both took sips, and then everyone else besides Yanagi quickly followed.

"Never have I ever masturbated in front of a mirror," Yagyuu said, smirking at Niou.

Niou took a sip, mumbling, "I'm not telling you anything anymore, dirty bastard," and Akaya snuck his sip when no one was looking.

"Never have I ever wondered if we're all going to Hell," Jackal said.

They all drank.

.

At eleven, only Yukimura, Akaya, Niou and Marui were conscious. (Sanada was gone after Niou said "Never have I ever lost to Echizen Ryoma.")

"What do you guys want to do now?" Niou asked, taking another shot of sake. He, unlike the currently passed-out regulars, had the alcohol tolerance of an ox.

"We could play poker again," Yukimura said, grabbing the cards that he had shoved into his bag.

"Again?" Marui groaned.

"Strip poker?" Yukimura suggested, shuffling the cards.

.

At midnight, the four were still playing strip poker.

Akaya was in his boxers, Yukimura was in his sweats, Niou was completely dressed, and Marui was sitting in only his socks. Apparently Marui had no shame, and didn't understand that when normal people play strip poker, they go in the following order: sock, sock, shirt, pants, underwear. Marui went: pants, underwear, everything else.

.

At one, only Niou, Yukimura and Akaya were up.

"What do you say we stick Sanada's hand in warm water, make Jackal and Yagyuu snuggle, and hide all of Marui's clothes?" Niou suggested.

.

At two, only Akaya and Yukimura were awake.

It might have been the buzz of the alcohol, or the lack of shame from having already stripped down, or the adrenaline from pranking their sleeping teammates – whatever it was, Akaya and Yukimura were lying shoulder-to-shoulder in their boxers.

"Buchou," Akaya said, turning onto his side.

"Akaya," Yukimura said, turning onto his side as well.

They were only inches apart, and Akaya could feel his captain breathing. He felt like he was in a cheesy romance story.

"Have you ever played Confession?" Akaya asked. Yukimura nodded. "You know how in never-have-I-ever I drank to having made out on the roof?" Yukimura nodded again. "I never did that."

"I never tied a cherry stem with my tongue," Yukimura admitted, laughing softly.

Akaya bit his lip. "I've never been kissed."

"I cheated on my chemistry test last week."

Akaya gave his captain a drunken smile. "I want to kiss you."

Yukimura laughed, and then realized Akaya wasn't laughing with him. "Akaya, are you serious?" Akaya nodded. Yukimura sighed. "Okay then."

Akaya closed his eyes and licked his lips. Yukimura smiled at his kohai's innocence, and closed the gap between them, gently brushing his lips up against Akaya's. Instead of pulling back right away, Yukimura closed his eyes, pressing a little harder. Akaya's lips were chapped and tasted like cherry chap-stick, and Yukimura sort of liked that.

After a few seconds, Yukimura pulled back and Akaya opened his eyes. Yukimura sat up, pulling his sleeping bag open. He smiled at Akaya in the dark, and crawled into his sleeping bag.

"Good night, Akaya."

"Good night, Buchou."

Akaya loved team night.

* * *

**A/N: "Yukimura was his first kiss, his first crush." – **_**Geeks in Love**_** – Chapter 43**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 11 -**

Akaya sat on the bench during practice, watching as Niou and Marui played a match against each other. Correction: he was watching Yukimura ref the match Niou and Marui were playing. Was that weird? Watching another guy just sit there?

Akaya groaned, rubbing his temples.

Three days. It had been three days since team night, and Yukimura hadn't even mentioned the kiss. Akaya was pretending nothing happened, but it was awkward and confusing. Akaya had no idea if Yukimura didn't remember the kiss (there was a lot of alcohol involved) or if Yukimura didn't want to remember the kiss.

Akaya groaned again.

"Akaya," Sanada said.

Akaya jumped and looked at Sanada who was sitting right next to him. "How long have you been there?"

Sanada turned his head to look at Akaya, but quickly returned to watching the match. "A few minutes."

Akaya groaned for a third time. "How many laps do you want me to do?"

"I don't know. Did you do something?"

"No," Akaya said quickly, readjusting his wrist bands. "You just always assign me laps."

"Ah."

Akaya rolled his eyes.

"Ten laps for rolling your eyes."

Akaya sighed and stood up.

"Another twenty to clear your head."

.

Sanada watched Akaya run his first ten laps before standing up and making his way to the referee chair Yukimura was sitting in.

"Yukimura," Sanada said, leaning against the tall chair.

Yukimura glanced down at him, and then back at the game. "What is it, Genchirou?"

"When's the last time you slept through the night?"

Yukimura held up his hand, signaling for Niou to wait before serving again. He glanced down at Sanada, this time keeping his eyes there.

"Don't patronize me," Yukimura said softly. "I've been busy."

"When?"

Yukimura sighed. "Before team night."

Sanada sighed as well, and then walked away without saying another word.

Yukimura clapped his hands and jumped off the chair. "That's enough! Marui, one hundred squats – you're getting jiggling thunder thighs. Niou, go help the first years – don't scare them."

He waited for them to run off, and then spotted Akaya running laps. He smiled to himself softly, his eyes half closed from exhaustion and something else he couldn't quite figure out as he watched the second year run his laps.

"Buchou!" a first year whined.

Yukimura frowned. "Niou Masaharu! It's been five fucking seconds!"

.

After practice, in the locker-room, Yukimura was sitting at a small desk in the corner, his arms folded over dozens of manila folders, his head resting on them as he closed his eyes.

"Buchou."

Yukimura opened his eyes and lifted his head. So much for his plans to take a nap. He rolled his head, cracking his neck, his eyes landing on Akaya.

"What is it, Akaya? Everyone else left."

Akaya pulled over the spare chair and sat down next to Yukimura. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Paper work to get a new tennis net," he muttered, shifting around the papers until he found a blue form. "Everything needs to go through the school."

"Don't we have funds?"

Yukimura nodded slowly, his mind working on no sleep. "We're given a budget for specific things – trips, buses, equipment. If we over draw from that budget, we need to go through the school."

Akaya hummed, grabbing a paper off the desk. "Shouldn't Yanagi-sempai be doing this?"

Yukimura took the paper from Akaya's hands. He looked at it, didn't have a clue what it meant, and put it back on the desk. "Probably."

"Then why isn't he?"

Yukimura sighed, giving Akaya warm, fake smile. "I'm going to be awhile," he said, changing the subject. "You can go home without me."

"I have nothing else to do," Akaya said, leaning his chair on its back two legs.

"Homework?" Yukimura suggested, searching for a pen.

"Did it durin' study hall."

"Ah, found it," Yukimura mumbled, grabbing a small pen. "Video games?"

"Played 'em."

"Friends?"

"They're busy."

Yukimura sighed, lazily signing a form for something. "TV?"

"Nothing on."

Yukimura gripped his pen a little tighter. "Akaya. Please, go away."

Akaya put his chair back down. "Why?"

"Because –!" Yukimura lowered his voice, letting go of the pen before he broke it in two. "Sorry... I've been up all night studying," he lied. "I'm just tired."

"I take naps on the roof during third mod when I'm tired," Akaya said.

"Maybe I'll join you tomorrow."

Akaya smiled, standing up. "I'd like that." Akaya turned on the soles of his shoes, and before he was out of site, he looked over his shoulder. "That form you just signed… it was for a practice match against Seigaku."

Yukimura smiled as the second year walked away. Once the door clicked shut, Yukimura tore the paper to shreds, and then rested his head on the desk.

_He must not remember,_ Yukimura thought, touching his lips gently. He closed his eyes, making a pillow with his arms. He sighed.

* * *

**A/N: Subtle Seigaku bashing FTW.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 12 -**

"Did you sleep at all?" Sanada asked Yukimura during lunch.

Yukimura set his head against his desk, moving his bento box aside. "A little."

Sanada sighed. "Did something happen at home? Is Emiko dating someone? Are _you _dating someone?"

"No. No. Why in the world would you think that?"

Sanada shrugged absentmindedly. "You keep touching your lips and staring out windows with dreamy eyes."

Yukimura lifted his head, hoping his cheeks weren't pink (they were), and narrowed his eyes at Sanada. He opened his mouth to protest, but then dropped his head again, using his arms as pillows.

"Shut up," Yukimura mumbled.

A few, silent minutes later, Yukimura stood up, grabbed his bag, and left the classroom.

.

Akaya was sitting on the roof, his back against the chain-link fence, a chilly Coca-Cola can in his hand. He took a long sip of his soda, setting it next to him once he was done. He tossed his head back, closing his eyes.

"Hey."

Akaya opened his eyes, cursing mentally that he had been caught, until he saw Yukimura standing in front of him. Akaya's stomach tightened, his heart stopped, and his throat went dry.

"Hey, Buchou…"

Yukimura tilted his head, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear. "I told you I might come join you for a nap. Is that okay?"

Akaya wasn't sure whether to be happy and be confused. He chose confused. "You're skipping?"

Yukimura shrugged, slipped his bag off as he sat down next to Akaya, their shoulders touching. Yukimura put his bag to the side, moving over an inch or two when he realized how close they were.

"I've skipped before," Yukimura said, looking up at the sky.

"You skipped?" Akaya asked, grinning from ear to ear. "When? With who?"

Yukimura laughed softly, setting his head against the fence. "It was my first year with Marui. We stayed up here from, oh, second mod until the end of the day."

Akaya thought about Marui and Yukimura skipping – most of the images were about them with gum in their hair, or them without their ties and blazers, which was an odd thought, because his sempai, even Niou, wore their uniforms perfectly (something about representing the team).

"It was fun," Yukimura added, tugging his tie lose. "Can I nap now?"

It was Akaya's turn to laugh softly. "Yeah. I'm gonna catch some Z's too."

Yukimura smiled, closing his eyes. He tilted his body slightly, resting his head on Akaya's shoulder. "Do you mind?" he asked, not bothering to open his eyes.

"N-no." Akaya bit his lip, watching as the clouds moved. "Buchou," Akaya continued softly, "thanks for doing that thing at team night. Buchou?"

Yukimura was already asleep.

* * *

**A/N: :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 13 -**

Akaya snuck away to the "bathroom" right before lunch ended and didn't come back. He thought about leaving school all together, but remembered he still had practice and didn't want to run laps. So, instead, he went to the roof.

When he got up to the top and his eyes had adjusted to the midday sun, he saw that someone was sitting in his usual spot. Frowning, Akaya walked over, his eyes going wide when he realized who it was.

"Eh? Buchou?"

He set his bag down next to his sleeping captain's, squatting next to him.

"Buchou," he said, gently shaking his shoulder.

Yukimura's eyes tightened, his body stiffened, his head moved and he was facing Akaya, and his mouth opened slightly.

"Buchou… wake up."

Yukimura's eyes eased up but remained closed, his body relaxed, and he whispered "Akaya" softly before closing his mouth.

Not completely in his right mind, Akaya stuck his neck out like a giraffe, closing the space between them until he could feel his captain breathing. Closing his eyes, Akaya pressed his lips against Yukimura's.

Yukimura opened his eyes slightly, realized Akaya had no clue he was awake, and closed them again, trying not to move at all.

Akaya pulled back, cheeks flaming as he licked his lips. He sat next to Yukimura, resting his head against the taller boy's shoulder.

Yukimura couldn't do anything but smile. Disney had a Sleeping Beauty, but he was a real life non-sleeping Sleeping Beauty. He couldn't help but think that it fit, for some odd reason.

* * *

**A/N: Hi.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 14 -**

Akaya sighed loudly, petting Sho's head. The small beagle was sitting on his stomach, his Mario pillow's nose was poking a hole through his skull, his muscles ached, he was half-asleep, and his brain refused to think of anything besides his captain.

"Sho," Akaya mumbled, rubbing his dog's ear, "do you think I should call Buchou?"

"Rawf." Translation: shut up, I'm trying to sleep here.

Akaya sighed again. "He's hanging out with Em-chan again, something about swimming with her at the Y and then getting lunch."

"Rawf." Translation: seriously, shut up.

Akaya stopped petting Sho.

"Rawf!" Translation: don't stop!

Akaya put his hand back on Sho's head, smiling at his dog. "I don't want to bother him and his sister, though. They're both so freakin' busy with stuff and never get to hang out. Nao never wants to hang out."

"Rawf." Translation: I will fart on you if you keep talking.

Akaya sighed for a third time. "I don't think he would mind that much, do you?"

Sho farted.

Akaya sucked in a huge breath, grabbed Sho, and rushed over to his door. He put Sho out in the hall, closing the door.

"Rawf. Rawf." Translation: ha-ha.

Akaya sighed (forth time) and sat down on his bed, reaching for his phone. He hit his sped dial, waiting for Yukimura to pick up.

"Akaya?" Yukimura answered after the second ring.

"Hey, Buchou," Akaya said, putting his Mario pillow in his lap. "You busy?"

.

Twenty minutes later, the two were sprawled out on Akaya's bedroom floor in a tangled mess, wii remotes in hand, as they played Super Mario Strikers.

"Ha!" Akaya yelled, rolling onto his back and kicking his legs into the air as he scored a goal. "I won! Again!"

Yukimura smiled, unhooking his wii remote from his wrist, and crawling over to Akaya. His smile was wicked, twisted almost, as he swung a leg over Akaya's torso and sat on his stomach.

"You won?" Yukimura asked, putting his hands on Akaya's ribs.

"B-Buchou," Akaya choked, squirming underneath Yukimura. "Don't –"

Yukimura began to tickle Akaya before he could finish. Akaya didn't try to fight back the laughter that bubbled up his throat. Akaya was gasping, writhing underneath Yukimura, tears forming in his eyes.

"Say I won."

"I won," Akaya gasped.

"Say 'you won'," Yukimura ordered, hunching so his face was hovering over Akaya's.

"N-never!"

Yukimura moved his hands higher, and that's when Akaya didn't gasp, he moaned – that's when Yukimura realized he was an inch away from Akaya's face, that he was straddling him, and that his hands were over Akaya's nipples.

Yukimura froze, staring down at Akaya with wide eyes."Akaya?" His voice was cracked, soft.

Akaya turned his head to the side, his face bright red. He brought his arms up to cover his face, but Yukimura grabbed his wrists before he could.

"Akaya," Yukimura said again, his voice firmer.

Yukimura bit his lip, unable to continue speaking. The two sat there in silence; Yukimura's hands on Akaya's wrists, sitting on his stomach, their faces an inch away, Akaya staring up at him with those huge, green eyes.

Suddenly, Yukimura swallowed hard, gently letting go of Akaya's wrists. However, he didn't move off of Akaya's stomach. Yukimura put a hand on each side of Akaya's head, leaning down slightly. His eyes were half lidded, his head was tilted…

"Buchou," Akaya whispered.

Yukimura ignored him. He was leaning closer, closer, and Akaya felt like he was going to die. It was different from team night. They weren't drunk. Akaya didn't ask for this. But he wanted it. He wanted it more than he had wanted to win Nationals, more than anything.

Yukimura's lips brushed the corner of his mouth. It wasn't a kiss, but it was there, and they both felt it. Akaya curled his toes up, wishing Yukimura would move his lips just a bit. He wanted to grab his captain's head, to kiss him until he couldn't think anymore. But Yukimura just kept his lips on the corner of his mouth in an almost-there-kiss.

Yukimura tugged is head back, rolling off of Akaya so he was lying next to him on his stomach. "Let's play again," he mumbled, reaching for his wii remote, fumbling with the wrist strap.

Akaya rolled onto his stomach, nodding, his face turning bright red. "Yeah…"

* * *

**A/N: Hmm…**

**On a more serious note: I start school tomorrow. AP World History, Spanish IV and other classes are going to kick my ass. Updates might be bit slower…**

**On another serious note: For my long term readers, you might remember "Love's Weird Like That." Well, I've finally gotten around to posting that re-write. It's called "The Love Bug" and it has doses of Atobe/Jiou, Marui/Akaya, Niou/Marui, Oshitari/Mukahi and a bunch of other pairings (no Yukimura/Akaya, though). It would be great if everybody went and checked it out, reviewed, or just alerted… It's a different story. It's serious. It's not a fall-in-love-over-night story.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 15 -**

Akaya was one second away from getting a new record time of Mario Kart when his phone rang. With a mumbled cursed, he paused the game and dove to the other end of the bed for his cell phone.

"Yellow?" he answered.

"Kirihara-san…"

Akaya furrowed his brow. "Em-chan? What is it?"

"Seiichi-nii has been acting weird. Could you come talk to him?"

Akaya swung his legs off the bed and made his way for his closet, his phone between his ear and his shoulder. "How has he been acting weird? Is he –"

"I don't know," the younger Yukimura cut in. "He's just sitting in his room with the lights off. Could you just come over, please?"

"I'll be there in five minutes." He shut his phone and then sighed.

.

Akaya knocked on Yukimura's front door, his hands shoved into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. A few seconds later, Emiko opened up the door, letting him in.

"I made tea, if you want some," the young girl said, closing the door.

Akaya smiled, slipping off his shoes. "Later, 'kay? I'm gonna go talk to your brother. Is he up in his room?"

"Yup." She nodded, as if to reinforce what she had just confirmed. Akaya turned to walk upstairs, but she hugged him, startling him for a second. "Thank you, Kirihara-san."

Akaya patted her back. "Anytime, Em-chan."

.

Yukimura was lying on his bed, a Luigi pillow under his head, one arm over his eyes, and the other draped over his stomach. When the door opened up, his turned his head, moving his arm slightly to see who had opened up the door. With a sigh, Yukimura sat up.

"Akaya," he said, grabbing his pillow and hugging it against his chest.

Akaya sat at the foot of his bed, putting a hand on his knee. "Em-chan called me," he said, rubbing circles onto Yukimura's knee with his thumb. "She said she was worried about you."

Yukimura shrugged, pulling his Luigi tighter against his chest. "I'm fine."

Akaya glanced at Yukimura's nightstand – there was a cup of water and a bottle of Motrin. Yukimura followed his eyes.

"I'm fine, really."

Akaya frowned, looking at his captain. "What's wrong?"

"A headache," he said, pulling at Luigi's mustache. "I'm just tired."

Akaya continued to frown. "You don't get headaches."

Yukimura laughed softly, tilting his head. "Yes, I do."

"But –" Akaya got on his knees, crawling closer to him so his face was right in front of his " – you're Yukimura-buchou! You have the defensive system of a tiger!"

Yukimura laughed again, this time louder, the sound booming through his head. "Headaches aren't a disease. They're caused from stress, lack of sleep, and other things."

Akaya stayed on all fours, sticking out his lower lip. "But Buchou –"

"I'm _fine_."Yukimura moved away so Akaya wasn't too inches away (really, did that boy not realize what he was doing sometimes?), biting his lip slightly to dull the pain in his head.

Akaya sighed, moving his legs around so he was sitting on his knees. "If you're tired, why don't you sleep?"

There were a lot of reasons he didn't sleep. He didn't have time, he either had nightmares or dreams about Akaya (not that he would admit to the either of the two). The crickets outside his window made too much noise. He had an exam coming up. But the one thing that kept Yukimura from sleeping was –

Yukimura smiled at Akaya, his fingers toying with the rim of Luigi's cap. "Do you want to spend the night?"

– he couldn't seem to sleep without a certain green-eyed second year close to him.

"Sure thing, Buchou." Akaya smiled. Yukimura smiled back, and, just for a second, he could have sworn the pain faded, just a little bit.

* * *

**A/N: Kaleidoscope.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 16 -**

Yukimura was sitting at the desk in the locker-room, rubbing his temples with his palms. When the pain didn't go away, he groaned loudly, setting his head on the desk.

"Buchou."

Yukimura didn't move – he didn't have the energy to. "Akaya, not now." He folded his arms, using them as a pillow, keeping his eyes shut.

"Still tired?" Akaya asked, pulling up a chair and sitting next to Yukimura.

Yukimura wondered how Akaya could be so casual towards him after – considering everything that had happened, Yukimura was surprised Akaya could even talk to him, let alone sit with him, alone, in the locker-room.

"No. Yes." Yukimura sighed. "I'm not sleeping, but I'm not tired. My head just hurts a lot and my eyes burn when I'm outside. I'm just used to the fatigue, I guess."

"You should go see a doctor," Akaya suggested.

Yukimura sighed again. "I know."

The two sat in silence for what seemed like forever. Yukimura thought his head was going to explode; every dull thump of his heart echoed in his brain, destroying every bit of sanity his daily naps on the roof had given him.

"Akaya," Yukimura said suddenly, prying his eyes open, "do you remember that kiss, the one from team night?"

"Y-yeah."

"Did you know I was awake when you kissed me on the roof two weeks ago?"

Akaya shifted in his seat, his cheeks tinted pink; Yukimura's head still resting on his arms, his eyes locked on Akaya's. "N-no."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

That's when Akaya realized he didn't know what to say. So many things came to mind, but none of them sounded right. I was worried you'd hate me? Can I kiss you now to make up for it? Do you want to go get some burgers and talk? I don't know? I'm stupid? Nothing sounded right.

"No reason in particular," Akaya mumbled.

"I see…" Yukimura lifted his head, frowning. Yukimura's smile was the glue that kept the team together, and his frown was the solvent that tore them apart. "You don't feel _that _way about me, do you?"

"No! I mean, yes! No! I don't know!" Akaya was practically screaming.

"It's okay, Akaya." Yukimura's frown broke his heart. "I get it. I'm not good enough. I've never been good enough."

"That's not what I meant!" Akaya wanted to punch something, hard. "I just, I just…"

Akaya was fishing for words, but nothing sounded right. How was he supposed to put his feelings into words? He didn't know how to label those feelings because they changed – it was love, it was lust, it was friendship, it was hatred, it was jealously, it was those stupid things that made him laugh… It was Yukimura. He would change everything about himself; he'd become a completely different person, if that was what it took to see Yukimura smile.

And then the words came.

"I can be less arrogant," Akaya said suddenly. "I can be more considerate." Akaya got out of the chair, moving so he was standing in front of Yukimura. "I can be charming, quiet, attentive…" He leaned down awkwardly, using his fingers to push Yukimura's lips into a smile. "I'll do anything you want me to. I'll be anything you want. You just tell me, and I'll do that… be that… for you."

Akaya moved his fingers, putting his palms of Yukimura's cheeks. He leaned down even more, his eyes half closed. Akaya felt his stomach flip, his heart pound, his hands sweat; he could feel Yukimura breathing, gently grabbing his shoulders.

It wasn't like their drunken kiss, or the sleeping kiss, or their almost-there kiss. It was weird and awkward, but in a good way. It made Akaya lose track of the world, and it made Yukimura forget about everything, even if it was only for a moment.

They parted, Akaya standing back up straight for a moment before sitting on Yukimura's lap, a leg on either side of him. He wrapped his arms around his captain's neck, closing his eyes as he leaned in again. It was less awkward, but just as weird. Akaya didn't know how to breath, what to do with his lips, how he was supposed to use his hands. So he just sat there, in Yukimura's lap, fingers toying with the ends of his captain's hair as the older boy melted under his lips.

When they parted again, Yukimura wrapped his arms around Akaya, pulling him against his chest. "Stay here. Would you do that? Would do you that… for me?"

"Yeah. Because I –"

Yukimura rested his head against Akaya's shoulder before the younger boy was finished. "Thank you, Akaya."

_Yeah. Because I love you._

* * *

**A/N: :)  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 17 -**

Akaya was lying in his bed, trying to get Sho to stop eating his Mario pillow, when his cell phone rang. He wrinkled his nose at Sho, and then grabbed his cell phone.

"Yeah?"

"Akaya."

Akaya smiled, completely forgetting his dog. He leaned back against his headboard, a foolish smile on his lips. "Hey, Buchou. What's up?"

"Hmm… nothing, really," Yukimura admitted. "I was wondering… do you want to play a game at the street courts and then go get some burgers?"

"Like a date?"

There was a pause. "If you want it to be…"

"Then it's a date," Akaya said, smiling. "I'll meet you at the courts in ten."

Akaya shut his phone, starring at his dresser. Date. What did you wear on a date? What did you wear on a date with another man?

.

Yukimura was sitting on a bench on the courts, playing with the strings on his racquet. He set his racquet down and picked up his phone. He sighed. Where was he? Did he change his mind? Did he not want it to be a date? Was it a date? Yukimura reached for his tennis bag. He was getting a headache again. He pulled out a small bottle of aspirin, his thumb pushing on the –

"Buchou?"

Yukimura shoved the bottle back into his bag, slightly confused when he looked up to see Akaya. Akaya was wearing a white polo and black shorts, both of which looked new. Akaya's street court tennis clothes were usually old T-shirts and stained shorts.

"Akaya," Yukimura said with a smile, hiding his confusion. "Why don't you warm up and then we'll play?"

"I ran here," Akaya said, setting his tennis bag on the bench. "I'm good."

Yukimura stood up, grabbing his racquet. "Perfect."

.

After their match ("You're not human! You're like Bowser, you never freakin' die!" Akaya had yelled after Yukimura beat him 6-3), the two went into town to get burgers. They sat down at their booth, the one in the corner, their trays piled high with food.

"If we didn't play tennis, we'd be seriously fat," Akaya said, pulling the top bun off his burger. He wrinkled his nose as he grabbed his tomato, dropping it on Yukimura's plate.

"I actually lost weight when I was in the hospital," Yukimura said, putting his pickles on Akaya's plate. "But I didn't eat much there because the food was really nasty."

Akaya smiled, picking up a fry. "Yeah, because food is only good when it can kill you."

"Exactly."

Akaya laughed softly, picking up a second fry. "Look."Akaya put both of thee fries in his mouth, the two fries sticking out like a walrus. "Who am I?"

"Tezuka?"

Akaya snorted, the fries coming out of his mouth when his jaw dropped in a silent-laugh. Yukimura couldn't help but think that he looked like a choking seal, but in a cute way. Not that a choking seal is cute. Choking seals aren't cute… but Akaya was when he looked like one.

.

It was weird. Very, very weird Yukimura noticed. It was like they were walking home from school, but it felt different. Every scenario played in his head – the good and the bad. Akaya could shove him into the fence that was by their side, and then kiss him senseless. Yukimura could shove Akaya into the fence, and then kiss _him _senseless. Akaya could laugh at any moment, and say 'Wow, you thought this was a date? You fag.' Akaya could say that he was moving. Akaya could say he didn't feel that way about him.

Yukimura reached up, rubbing his temple.

"It hurts again, doesn't it?" Akaya asked.

Yukimura slipped one hand into his pocket, the other readjusting its grip on his tennis bag. "No."

"You're lying again."

Yukimura shifted his bag again. "It hurts a little."

"Is it stress?" Akaya asked softly.

Yukimura turned and looked at Akaya. That was when he realized that they were no longer captain and junior; Akaya was his height, Akaya's voice had changed, Akaya was looking at him with those gorgeous, green eyes like he held the answers to the world. It scared him half to death.

"Yeah… it's stress."

"Oh." Akaya nodded once, biting his lip. "Well, we're home."

Yukimura turned his attention off of Akaya, changing his focus to their surroundings. They were standing outside of Akaya's house, a few houses down from Yukimura's.

Akaya rocked back and forth on his heels, his lips pressed together. "So… good night?"

"Yeah, good night," Yukimura said.

Akaya smiled at him, turned on the soles of his shoes –

"Akaya."

Yukimura grabbed Akaya's wrist, tugging him back. Their lips met at an awkward angle, but Yukimura knew that they made contact because his stomach got those butterflies and his head pounded a few times, the pain becoming unbearable, before slowly drifting away.

Yukimura broke the awkward kiss, smiling. "See you at school."

Akaya turned around, biting his lip as he walked home.

* * *

**A/N: Love-dovey-fluff cookies with extra chocolate chip sprinkles.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 18 -**

Yukimura was lying on his back on his bed, flipping through a tennis magazine, his cat lying on his stomach. Akaya was sitting by his feet, playing Super Mario on his DS.

"Buchou," Akaya said randomly, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Yeah?"

Akaya closed his DS, setting it to the side. He poked Yukimura's foot. "Buchou."

Yukimura folded down the corner of his magazine, setting it on the floor. He scooped up his white cat before sitting up. _Was he going to say that he didn't want to go out? Are we going out? Is he quitting the team? Does he not want to be captain next year?_

With a fond smile, Yukimura pretended his head wasn't throbbing, and looked at Akaya. "Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?" Akaya asked, getting on his hands and knees, crawling so he was in front of Yukimura.

Yukimura's cat jumped out of his arms, meowing as she hit the floor and ran off.

"Excuse me?" Yukimura asked, blinking slowly.

Akaya put a hand on his captain's shoulder, the other next to Yukimura's waist. He leaned in slightly, his head tilted to the left. "Can I kiss you, Buchou?"

_Is he making fun of me? What if he isn't making fun of me? But then why would he ask? What if I have a cold sore? What if my breath is icky?_

"Buchou?" Akaya asked, his face even closer to Yukimura's. "What are you thinking?"

Yukimura put on that smile of his that could out shine the sun. "Nothing. Why?"

"You never answered me," Akaya said, even closer. "Can I kiss you?"

_Maybe he's in love with Genchirou. They do talk an awful lot. Am I being used to get to him? Is he dating a girl and I'm the mistress? _

"Buchou?" he asked, closer again, voice a whisper. "Can I?"

"Yeah," Yukimura said, barely above a whisper.

Akaya moved so he was sitting in Yukimura's lap, his hands on his shoulders. He tilted his head to the right, then back to the left, then to the right again, and then back to the left. He licked his lips, grinning, slowly leaning in, closer, closer…

Being around Akaya was confusing and it made Yukimura's head hurt at times, but it was worth it, just to see that determination flash in Akaya's eyes as he leaned in for the kiss, grinning like he had just saved the world.

* * *

**A/N: So people who read Geeks have been asking me about why Yukimura isn't a homophobe. I get to it. Eventually. I want this fluff to last.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 19 -**

The two boys were walking home when Yukimura's cell phone rang.

"Sorry, hold on," Yukimura said, cutting Akaka off from talking about how 'Luigi is _so _getting it on with Daisy.' Yukimura pulled is phone out of his pocket, pressing it to his ear. "Hello?"

Akaya pressed his lips together, slipping his hands into his pocket as Yukimura furrowed his brow and nodded as he talked. Akaya smiled to himself, thinking about how different Yukimura looked at eye level – he was still getting used to the height change.

"Good-bye," Yukimura said, closing his phone and slipping it into his pocket.

"Who was that?" Akaya asked. "Emiko."

"Em-chan?" Akaya sounded surprised. "Is she okay? Do you need to go pick her up? Did she get her period? Girls get their periods when they're twelve-ish… I should know. Nao turned into a bitch when she got hers."

Yukimura laughed softly. "She's fine. I do not need to pick her up. And she's had her period for two years. And don't talk about your sister like that; Naomi is a very nice girl."

"You remember how long your sister's been on her period?" Akaya asked, wrinkling his nose.

Yukimura laughed again. "Emiko swims. You have no idea how many times I've needed to sprint to a store to get tampons. Did you know they come in different sizes?"

"I don't need to know Em-chan's vagina size!"

"It's by flow, not size. I think. If not, I've been messing up for a long time."Yukimura cringed. "Change of subject: do you want to come over? Emiko's spending the night at a friend's house, that's why she called, and my parents don't really care since you live like, two minutes away."

Akaya smiled, swooshing his hair out of his eyes. "Sure."

.

Akaya was lying on the futon on the floor of Yukimura's room, flipping through an old tennis magazine. He rolled onto his side, looking up at Yukimura, who was lying on his bed texting Sanada. That's when Akaya saw the spider.

"Hi Spider," Akaya mumbled, rolling up his magazine. "Nice Spider, let me pet you… with my magazine…"

Thwap.

Yukimura glanced down, smiling when he saw Akaya whacking his magazine on the spider. "I think it's dead," Yukimura said, closing his cell phone.

Akaya wrinkled his nose, pushing the dead spider away from him with the magazine."I_ hate_ spiders."

"I can tell." Yukimura smiled even more, moving so his head was a little closer to Akaya's. "Do you hate anything else? I mean, if you're my boyfriend, I think I have the right to know…"

"B-boyfriend?"

Yukimura's eyes went wide. Were they boyfriend and, well, boyfriend? They kissed. They talked. They hung out. Wasn't that the criteria for going out? What if Akaya thought this was something else? What if –

"I like the sound of that," Akaya whispered, turning so he was on his knees. A few awkward moments later, he was sitting comfortably on the floor, his head right next to Yukimura's. "Does my boyfriend want a goodnight kiss?"

Yukimura tapped his finger on his chin, an amusing grin on his face. "I don't know. Does my boyfriend want a kiss?"

Akaya nodded. "He would like that a lot."

Two seconds later, Akaya was tilting his head as he leaned in for his prize.

* * *

**A/N: I'm updating instead of doing my Spanish homework. You're welcome.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor do I own Akaya or Yukimura.**

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**- 20 -**

Akaya didn't like the rain. He couldn't play tennis, Sho smelled like wet dog (duh), when the electric goes out he couldn't play Zelda, and that meant he had nothing to do. But Yukimura always come over when it was raining, so that was a good thing, he supposed.

Akaya was sitting in the middle of his bedroom, sticking a head on top of his Lego man. Yukimura was sitting at his desk, watching his boyfriend with an amused smile.

"Look," Akaya said, rolling onto his back, holding the toy man up as well as some sort of Lego spaceship, "it's the Rikkai Death Star!"

Yukimura laughed softly, running a hand through his hair. "I see. Can the Rikkai Death Star do anything?"

"It can kill Echizen," Akaya said, making the ship run over the Lego man, who, after a second glance, did resemble a certain first year.

Yukimura laughed even harder, smiling like a fool. "That's all?" he asked in a teasing way.

Akaya frowned, setting down the ship. "Ne, you're expecting too much out of Legos, Buchou."

Yukimura got out of the chair and onto his knees, awkwardly waddling over to where Akaya was sitting. He picked the ship back up, examining it. "But Legos are building blocks, right?"

Akaya just gave him a look.

"And," Yukimura continued, "building blocks are, well, building blocks – they make everything we stand on possible, and because of that, we're able to think of the future, to want things… Building blocks make it possible to dream."

"They're just Legos, Buchou," Akaya deadpanned.

"I suppose. But you know," Yukimura smiled, setting the Lego star ship down, "I dream about _you_."

Akaya smiled, tilting his head, moving slightly so he was right in front of Yukimura. He leaned in gently, pressing his lips up against the older boy's. Akaya was pretty sure he felt Yukimura grab his hips, but he wasn't sure. When he kissed Yukimura, everything blurred – Yukimura just did that to him.

Akaya pulled his head back, licking his lips, and, with a devilish smile, said, "I love Legos."

* * *

**A/N: To be honest, I was going to start the _Geeks in Love_ plot line sometime soon, but a fluff bunny attacked me and now all I can think of is fluff.**

** Side note: I just finished the last episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and it was amazing. I've read the manga, seen the original anime (the one that doesn't follow the manga), and Brotherhood is by far the best out of the three.**


	21. Chapter 21

**- 21 -**

"My head hurts," Yukimura mumbled. He was lying on the floor of Akaya's bedroom. Akaya's dog, Sho, was sitting on his stomach. He had fallen asleep there an hour ago and was still out like Sleeping Beauty.

Kirihara rolled around on his bed so he could see the older boy. "Do you want some medicine?"

Yukimura shook his head. He put a hand over his eyes, but Kirihara could tell from the way Yukimura's face twisted that he was wincing.

"Is it that bad?" Kirihara asked softly.

Yukimura nodded. "It won't stop."

"You need to see a doctor."

He shook his head again. "No, Akaya, I'm fine. I don't like doctors. It's just... stress."

_It's my grades. It's Emiko growing up too quickly. It's me freaking out about our relationship. It's me freaking out that we're in a relationship. It's –_

Before Yukimura form another thought, Kirihara was kneeling next to his head. He was leaning down so their noses were touching. Sho let out something of a snore.

"Yukimura," Akaya said. It was strange not calling him buchou. It felt good on his lips. "Please don't worry. And if you need to worry, you can tell me. I told you that I'd be more considerate, that I'd be more attentive. I meant it."

Yukimura smiled at him. "Thank you. Kiss me?"

Akaya got that smile, the one that meant he had just saved the world. "Yes, yes, I will."

Akaya tilted his head, kissing Yukimura sideways. Yukimura wanted to stay frozen in that moment, just like that, and live there forever. For a moment, the worry disappeared, the pain was gone, and all he could think about was Akaya.

* * *

**A/N: Holy crap I updated this for the first time since October of last year. I'm incredibly sorry for the long wait. I promise that I will finish this story. After fixing up some minor formatting errors with **_**Geeks in Love**_** (and re-reading every chapter) it made me want to finish its side story. I have some great ideas, and I still remember where I was going with the plot, so get ready for some freaks :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**- 22 -**

Akaya swore, wishing his head was smaller so he could wiggle underneath Yukimura's bed. He had dropped his phone, Yukimura's cat had batted it underneath, and now he couldn't reach it. Finally, after ten minutes of swearing words that probably didn't exist, Akaya pulled his phone out. But he also pulled something else out.

It was a small sketch book, no bigger than the size of a regular notebook. Akaya flipped through it, a smile forming on his lips. It was a drawing book from when Yukimura was younger. Now, Yukimura would use charcoal or pencils. Back when he was a kid, he used crayola crayons.

"Akaya, you can use the bathroom," Yukimura said as he walked through the door. His boxers were hanging low on his hips, but even that couldn't distract Akaya from the book. "Where did you find that, Akaya?"

"Under the bed," Akaya replied smoothly. "I like your lion."

Yukimura walked over and bent over. He plucked the book from his boyfriend's hands. "I was six. I liked animals. Don't mock me."

"I wasn't mocking you, honest!" Akaya said. Yukimura raised an eyebrow, so Akaya added, "Really. I like them. They're cute."

Yukimura sighed and sat down next to Akaya. He flipped through the book page-by-page, telling a story if a picture had one. A picture of a purple zebra had the funniest story – "I was curious what color zebras were, so I drew a bunch. I think I decided on purple. Or was it rainbow? I was a queer kid."

Akaya rested his head on Yukimura's shoulder, letting out a sigh. "I'm dating an artist. I feel like I'm in a movie."

"I'm not that good," Yukimura muttered. "I loved crayola crayons. Emiko got me a sixty-four pack when I was seven. I lost half of them in a week."

"Holy crapola it's crayola!"

Yukimura, though thoroughly confused, laughed. "What in the world, Akaya?"

Akaya was laughing, too. "I don't know. I just had to say that."

They ended up in a fit of laughter, falling backwards so they were staring up at the ceiling. Akaya rolled so he was pressed against Yukimura's side, murmuring, "Crapola is an awesome word," before kissing Yukimura.

* * *

**A/N: Crayola = love. Also, next chapter is the start of an actual plot. Yes, I know, strange.**


	23. Chapter 23

**- 23 -**

Practice had been hot. Half the guys were shirtless by the end of the day. Niou and Marui had dropped their shorts and ran around in their underwear for the last half hour. Sanada had been force feeding kids water. Even Jackal was complaining about being tired, and he was the cow of humans – only he had four lungs, not stomachs (that'd be weird).

Akaya was one of many who take a shower. He stayed in longer than most, switching form cold water to warm by the time the other members had left. When he got out of the shower –fluffy white towel around his waist – a piece of hair got in his mouth.

"Yuck, shampoo flavor," he muttered as he spit it out.

He headed into the locker room. It didn't surprise him when he saw Yukimura sitting at his desk in the back. It _did_ surprise him that Yanagi and Sanada were still there.

"He doesn't know."

Akaya hide before he even thought about it. He felt like he was in a spy movie.

"Seiichi, your headaches have gotten worse since you've been involved with him," Sanada said. "It's unhealthy. You're too worried about him."

"He doesn't know," Yukimura repeated. "And I don't want him to think it's his fault that I'm having headaches. It's my own anxiety."

"Yes, but Seiichi," Yanagi began. He let out a sigh, too tired of arguing to finish.

"I like him," Yukimura said. "I know it's strange, but I like Akaya. I don't care if my headaches are getting worse because of it. There are times when my head doesn't hurt at all."

"But you're anxious and paranoid the rest of the time," Sanada reminded him. "You haven't slept in days. You're barely eating."

Akaya couldn't listen to them anyone. He began to walk through the locker room, stepping with more force than necessary. His wet footsteps echoed in the now silent locker room.

As Akaya put on his clothes, he heard Sanada and Yanagi mumble their goodbyes. Akaya felt his heart sink. He was the reason Yukimura was in pain. He was making Yukimura anxious. It was his fault. He could have sworn Yukimura was happy. Akaya bet that Yukimura didn't even like him.

"Akaya," Yukimura called from the back of the room, "you okay? You're quiet."

"I'm fine, Yukimura," Akaya lied. _But you're not._

"I'm glad," Yukimura said. He got up and headed over to Akaya's locker. He wrapped his arms around the half-dressed boy from behind. He kissed a spot right by Akaya's ear. "I'm really, really glad."

Akaya nodded. He turned in Yukimura's arms, wrapped his arms around his captain's neck, got up on his toes, and kissed him. Yukimura smiled into to the kiss, but Akaya couldn't find anything to smile about.

* * *

**A/N: ****You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one... (Love that song.)**


	24. Chapter 24

**- 24 -**

Akaya didn't mean to, but he started acting differently around Yukimura. He was quieter, more reserved. He didn't want to say anything to make Yukimura second guess himself.

Akaya was sitting on the floor of Yukimura's kitchen, playing with his cat. Yukimura was sitting on the counter, waiting for the popcorn to finish popping.

"Do I bug you?" Akaya asked. He didn't know why he was asking. It had sort of... slipped out.

Yukimura stared at him for a moment. A million thoughts went through his head, but only one word came out of his mouth: "What?"

"Do I bug you, Yukimura?" Akaya asked again. His voice sounded weak.

"No," Yukimura said without hesitation. "You don't bug me. Why are you asking this all of the sudden? Obviously I wouldn't be spending time with you if you bugged me..."

"But I make you anxious," Akaya mumbled. "I heard you talking to Yanagi-senpai and Sanada-fuku-buchou the other day."

_Does he not want to be together?_ Yukimura wondered. _Does he think it's his fault? It's not his fault. I'm just anxious. Who would want to date an anxious person anyways?_

"I've had anxiety my whole life, Akaya," Yukimura said gently. "I've always had headaches. They're not worse than they were before –"

"You're lying." Kirihara got up off the floor, Yukimura's cat running from the room. He walked to the counter Yukimura was at and put his hands onto either side of Yukimura. "Yukimura, tell me the truth."

"I like you."

"But I make the anxiety worse."

"Because I like you."

Akaya shook his head. "I can't. I can't do that to you. I really, _really _like you, but I can't be with you knowing I'm putting you in pain."

"You help the pain!" Yukimura nearly shouted. "When you're around, it goes away. When you kiss me, it stops. It'll get worse if you're not here."

Akaya got up on his toes. He was tall enough to kiss Yukimura's bottom lip. Yukimura threaded his fingers into Akaya's hair, keeping him there. He didn't want to let go. Ever.

"Buchou," Akaya whispered against his lips. He pulled back and frowned. "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you. I'll see you at practice."

When the front door shut, the microwave beeped.

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**A/N: Do. Not. Kill. Me.**


	25. Chapter 25

**- 25 -**

When practice came the next day, Akaya wouldn't even look at Yukimura. Even Sanada knew something was wrong. He had Akaya running laps all of practice, and he played a match against Yukimura just to distract the captain.

The day after that, Yukimura went up to the roof. Akaya wasn't there. He took a nap anyways. His head ached more than ever.

Yukimura wasn't sure when he finally decided that they were over for good. It wasn't a pretty sight when he did. All of the club members besides Yanagi, Sanada and he had left. So when he lost it, he lost it big time.

He ended up tossing all the papers off his desk in the back of the locker room. He kicked benches over, punched a locker, screamed – whether it was from the pain in his head or chest, he wasn't sure.

"Seiichi!" Sanada shouted. "Calm down!"

Yanagi simply stared, unsure of what to do.

"He played me!" Yukimura kicked another bench over. Then Sanada was gripping his arms to keep him still. "The brat played with me! He just needed an excuse to break up with me! Of course he would use the sentimental it's-better-this-way trick. I can't believe it. I can't..."

Yukimura lost his voice. All the anger in his body drained. He felt weak, like even a first year could beat him 6-0. His head was pounding. It felt like razors were rubbing against his skull.

"Genchirou, my head hurts," Yukimura muttered dumbly.

Sanada nodded and let go of Yukimura. He hurried back to the desk to find a bottle of pain meds. While he was gone, Yukimura sat down on a bench he hadn't flipped. Yanagi sat next to him.

"On the bright side, I heard Niou and Marui are going out. It's only a rumor, but it appears to be true," Yanagi told him. He honestly hoped to cheer Yukimura up. He didn't know what else to say.

"It's unfair," Yukimura said. "Why can they be together? Niou thinks through things just like I do. How come I'm the one who got the massive migraines for liking someone? Marui and Akaya are similar... Why?"

"I don't know," Sanada said, returning with a bottle of water and three small pills. Yukimura murmured thanks and took them from Sanada, who sat down on Yukimura's other side. "You can't blame Akaya, Seiichi. I'm sure he really did have his heart in the right place."

"No, he didn't. He would have listened to me if he did," Yukimura said. He popped the pills in his mouth, swallowing them without water.

"It's just a rumor," Yanagi added lamely. Yanagi never was very good with words. "I'm sorry."

Yukimura forced a small laugh. "You're sorry? I went Godzilla on the locker room."

Yanagi smiled, though Sanada didn't seem happy.

"I'll be okay," Yukimura said. "It's not like we were together that long... I'll get over it..."

_You won't be able to get over it,_ a voice in the back of Yukimura's head told him. Yukimura knew the voice was right. He cared too much about that idiot to let him go.

* * *

**A/N: Yup.**


	26. Chapter 26

**- 26 -**

Akaya stared at Niou and Marui. They weren't acting any differently, but he had heard the rumors. The rumors about two geeks in love. Akaya wondered if it was true. They were so much like Yukimura and himself personality wise – Niou was distant and analytical, just like Yukimura; Marui was forward and a little strange, just like Akaya.

"Senpai," Akaya said as he walked up to the two. Barely anyone else was in the locker room, so he decided now was just as good as any other time. "Are you two going out?"

Marui kicked him in the shin. "Butt out."

"Yes, we are," Niou said.

"And this is why we've been called fags all day," Marui murmured under his breath.

"So you want me to lie?" Niou snapped. "We're going out. I don't give a damn if anyone else knows!"

Akaya walked away before he got caught in the middle of a fight. He bit his lip. It hurt. It hurt so damn much. How could they make it work when Yukimura and he couldn't?

Akaya put a hand to his eyes. He was such a baby. He grabbed his bag and rushed out of the locker room. He didn't care that he was skipping. He didn't care anymore. He couldn't look at Niou and Marui and not want to run to Yukimura and apologize. It was for the better, to keep Yukimura sane.

Akaya bumped into someone on his way out. "Sorry," he murmured.

Yukimura stared at him. Why was he crying? He spotted Niou and Marui, heard Niou shout, "Well, you can't kick the school into accepting us!" and decided it was physical pain. After all, Akaya had been the one to end it. It should have been painless for him.

.

During warm-up laps, Yukimura jogged up to Niou and Marui. He hovered behind them for a moment before falling into step besides them.

"Are you two going out?" he asked bluntly.

Niou raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Yukimura kept his eyes forward as they turned the corner. He couldn't look at them. "I've heard my fair share of rumors, and Akaya was crying again."

Marui smiled at the mention of Akaya crying. Yukimura wanted to deck him.

"Well, we are," Niou said, finally answering Yukimura's question.

Yukimura's eyes drifted from their feet to their heads. They were close (physically and emotionally). He refocused his eyes on the next corner.

"Don't lie to me, Niou Masaharu, or you will die a short, violent death. Homosexuality is not a joke, not here. I do not tolerate that sort of business on my courts."

_Why could they be together? How could they be together? Why aren't _we_ together?_

"Why would we lie?" Marui asked. "What do we have to gain? A short, violent death?"

"I don't know," Yukimura replied dumbly, "but you have a lot to lose including that. If I remember correctly, neither of your parents are alright with same sex relationships. Niou, yours especially. Besides, I doubt they'll let their virgin-kisser go out with a guy."

"I have been kissed," Niou said very matter-of-factly.

Marui nodded. "Fifty-two times. Oh, Yukimura, how many kisses does it take to be officially going out? I thought it was ten, and then Niou thought it was twenty. We just decided to make it an even fifty… plus a few extra in case we lost count."

Yukimura ignored them and sprinted the last ten laps. He couldn't get Akaya out of his mind – the drunken kiss they shared, the not-really-asleep kiss, their almost-kiss, their first real kiss, and all the kisses after that.

To hell with Niou and Marui.

To hell with Akaya.

* * *

**A/N: And that's why Yukimura was a "homophobe" in **_**Geeks in Love**_** – he was jealous that he couldn't have Akaya, but Niou could have Marui. It's the best I could come up with.**


	27. Chapter 27

**- 27 -**

Akaya went up to the roof one day. He couldn't stand being in class. He pulled out his lunch and sat down with his back against the wire fence. He stared up at the sky, holding his Coca-Cola can, remembering when he had kissed Yukimura, thinking he was asleep.

"It's for his health," Akaya told himself. He wondered when he got so close to Yukimura. They were always friends until –well, Akaya didn't know when they stopped being friends.

Akaya sighed and took a sip of his soda. He pulled his phone out of his bag, scrolling through his numbers. He didn't know why he was calling them, but he decided they wouldn't judge him. He pressed his phone to his ear and waited.

"Why are you calling me during school, brat?" Hiyoshi asked. "_How_ are you calling me during school?"

"It's lunch, you stupid mushroom," Akaya snapped. He and Hiyoshi didn't get along that well, but he couldn't think of anything else who was blunt enough to tell him whether or not he was acting stupid. "How are you picking up?"

"Atobe-san is having an all day practice," Hiyoshi said. "What do you want?"

"So I was going out with this guy –"

"Guy?"

"Yes, guy. He has a penis. That a problem?"

"No. Continue."

Akaya rolled his eyes. Hiyoshi really was strange. "Anyways, I was going out with this guy. At least, I think we were going out. We kissed and went on dates and stuff. We were happy. Really happy."

"I see," Hiyoshi said dully. "Are you bragging, or does this have a point?"

Akaya took another quick sip of his soda. Coca-cola gave him the energy of dealing with Hiyoshi – it was that good of a soda. He continued: "But then I found out that he has anxiety problems, and that being with me gave him migraines. So I broke up with him. Now I miss him, and he's probably pissed at me."

Hiyoshi sighed. "I don't know, Kirihara. I've been in a relationship for a year, but we fight all the time. Breaking up and making up is easy for me."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Boyfriend."

Akaya took another sip of soda. _Awkwaaaard_.

Hiyoshi realized Akaya was surprised by the fact that he was gay (probably more by the fact that he was in a year long relationship), so he continued: "Kirihara, I don't know what to tell you. If you want him back, then tell him. If it's a pride thing –"

"It's not!"

Hiyoshi sighed for the umpteenth time (it was practically his signature catchphrase). "Then I don't know what to tell you. If he means that much to you, then be nice to him. Show him that you care." There was a pause before Hiyoshi said, "I need to go. Atobe-san is looking for me. Good luck."

"Thanks." Hiyoshi hung up. Akaya stared at his phone, then stuck out his tongue and said, "Ass-butt."

Akaya sighed and finished off his soda. It was Yukimura that got him to like coke. He hated it before, but Yukimura said it was the best. It had grown on him, just like Yukimura.

Akaya sunk down so he was practically lying down. "This sucks."

* * *

**A/N: I think I lost my touch with this fic. My writing style has changed so much, but it's nice to write shorter chapters for a change.**


	28. Chapter 28

**- 28 -**

Yukimura had made Niou and Marui play a match. They looked at him with such hatred. Yukimura knew he was being cruel, that the two were only trying to find happiness in each other, but he couldn't stand seeing them together. The way they looked at each other, the way they snuck kisses when they thought no one was looking, the way they smiled when the other walked into the room. They were in love.

The next time Yukimura went to the roof, Akaya was there. They met eyes for a moment before Akaya looked away and took a sip of his coke. Yukimura walked over, sitting several feet away from his junior.

They ate their lunches silently, neither saying anything. Occasionally, Akaya would pull out his phone to answer a text message.

_What should I do? He's right here!_ Akaya sent frantically to Hiyoshi.

_**How the hell should I know? Apologize?**_ Hiyoshi replied moments later.

Akaya shoved his phone into his bag. Hiyoshi was useless. The stupid mushroom head.

Akaya took another sip of his coke, glancing sideways at Yukimura without moving his head. "How have you been?" he asked nervously.

"Alright," Yukimura replied softly. "My head hurts. My sister is worried because you don't come over anymore."

"Tell Em-chan it's my fault," Akaya mumbled. "Tell her I screwed everything up. Tell her I'm sorry."

"I don't blame you, Akaya," Yukimura said. "I understand your reasons. If it's what you want, there's nothing I can do about it. You're not a child who constantly changes his mind."

Akaya set down his can. He got on his hands and knees, crawling towards Yukimura. The captain nearly let his eyes bug out of their sockets. _What the hell is he doing? What is he playing at?_

"I do change my mind. I have changed my mind," Akaya whispered. He was right next to Yukimura now, staring down at the small amount of cement between them. "I'll work on being a better boyfriend so I don't make you worry. I'll do anything."

"You've said that before. You said you would be less arrogant," Yukimura reminded him. "You said you would be more considerate, charming, quiet, attentive... You said a lot of things, Akaya."

"I was telling the truth!" Akaya practically screamed. He didn't know why he was getting so worked up. He knew this was coming. He broke up with Yukimura, of course he would be hesitant to believe him again. "I told you I'll do anything for you. I wasn't lying, Yukimura."

Akaya didn't know what possessed him to get even closer, but he did. The next thing he knew, Yukimura's hand was in his hair and then they were kissing for the first time in a month and it was the best damn thing in the world.

But then it turned to hell. Yukimura slid his hand out of Akaya's hair, shaking his head back and forth. "No. I can't. Not again."

"Yukimura," Akaya said softly, "I'm sorry. Please believe me. I won't do that again. I was stupid, thinking I was the only reason your head hurt. I realize you're just like that."

Yukimura grabbed his bag and stood up. He made his way for the stairwell. Akaya was barely able to hear him say, "I can't."

"Yukimura!"

He was already gone.

Akaya pressed his back against the fence and swore.

* * *

**A/N: FYI: this story will have 40 chapters.**


	29. Chapter 29

**- 29 -**

All third years were required to go to an assembly. Akaya heard the rumors. Niou had called Yukimura out, saying he was a homophobe. After practices, he would hear Yukimura arguing with Yanagi and Sanada, saying that his headaches are even worse with the constant ridicule and Niou's extra pranks.

On day, when they didn't have practice, Akaya went into town to meet up with Hiyoshi – they had become quite good friends. As he was walking to their meeting place, he spotted Niou and Marui inside of a diner. Akaya checked the time on his phone, figured he could spare a few minutes, and headed inside.

"Ni-ni," Marui said in a threatening voice.

Niou grabbed a cup and looked as though he was being tortured. Akaya slid into the booth next to Niou. He realized it was a bad idea about five seconds after his butt hit the leather.

"What?" Niou asked.

"I came to talk to you guys," Akaya lied.

Niou blinked. "Wait. Did you follow us here?"

Akaya shook his head as Niou shifted so he had more room. "No! Yanagi-senpai told me you two were coming." Another lie. He was meeting Hiyoshi.

"Remind me to kill that guy," Marui mumbled under his breath.

"So, what do you need?" Niou asked again. It was obvious he was frustrated, but he didn't seem annoyed. What the heck had he walked in on?

"So, what do you need?" Niou asked again.

Akaya looked down at the table. He got an idea. Maybe it would work...

"Well, some girls were saying that you called Buchou a homophone. Well, is that true?"

Niou and Marui looked at each other. "Uh..."

"I know about you two, I'm not_ that_ stupid," Akaya muttered.

Niou sighed and grabbed the cup. It looked like a chocolate milkshake and he seemed hesitant to drink it. "He doesn't say we should rot in Hell, but he's working us more and can't look us in the eye. So, yeah, I called him a homophobe. He basically admitted to it by standing up, too."

"Standing up?" Akaya asked.

Marui waved his hand and leaned so his elbows were on the table. "Long story. So, why do you care if Yukimura's a homophobe?"

"Well, I was thinking that since he doesn't like sweet things and always feels bad about throwing out all the chocolate he gets from Valentine's Day that I would get him some dark chocolate nuts – something less sweet. But I don't want him to think I'm gay…"

He had no idea how he pulled that out of his ass. He sounded convincing, if he did say so himself.

"Are you gay?" Niou asked curiously.

Akaya gripped his jeans.

Marui looked at Niou, shook his head, then back at Akaya. "Why do you think you're gay?"

"Well, a boy in the locker room said that if I liked looking at other guys then I was a fag," Akaya lied. He didn't think the truth would go over so well – _Yukimura and I were dating until I became a major idiot._

"Do you like looking at other guys, Akaya?"

Akaya didn't say anything for a minute. "Sometimes… Just buchou."

"Well, Akaya, my advice would be to give him the chocolate and just tell him the truth," Marui said. "Besides, who knows, maybe he'll change his ways for you."

Akaya gave a small smile. "Really?"

Marui nodded. "Yup."

"Well, um, thanks!" Akaya stood up and hurried out the door. He ran a hand through his hair. That was the worst experience of his life. He had a growing fear that he was becoming a pathological liar, and a good one at that.

.

Hiyoshi nodded as he listened to Akaya explain what had just happened with his senpai. There were sitting outside of a small café. Hiyoshi was drinking some girly thing (vanilla-extra-foam-and-milk girly). Akaya got lemonade (like a man).

"They believed you?" Hiyoshi asked with suspicion. "That story you told made no sense whatsoever."

"They were off in their own little world," Akaya said. "I don't know what to do! Help me."

Hiyoshi sighed and took a sip of his coffee. "Kirihara, you're screwed no matter what you do. You like your captain and tried to apologize. You either give up or try again."

"I want to try again, but I don't know how."

"You told your senpai you wanted to get him chocolate. Why not actually get him chocolate?" Hiyoshi suggested. "My boyfriend likes sweet things. I always give him chocolate after we fight."

"Who's your boyfriend?" Akaya asked. "You never told me his name."

Hiyoshi's cheeks turned slightly red. "Mukahi-san..."

"Really?" Hiyoshi nodded. Akaya thought about it for a moment. "I can see it."

Hiyoshi smiled.

* * *

**A/N: I was reading **_**Geeks in Love**_**, found this scene, and literally swore. I tried my best to make it fit... **


	30. Chapter 30

**- 30 -**

Marui came around the corner on Valentine's Day, holding bags of cheap gum and chocolates. Niou was waiting for him, holding an unwrapped piece of mint gum out. Marui snapped it between his teeth and let out a content sigh.

"Thank you," Marui said.

"No problem," Niou said as he opened the clubroom door.

Yukimura spotted them and scowled. "Marui, spit out that gum!"

"But, Yukimura –" Marui began.

"No buts. Spit it out."

Niou pulled Yukimura to the side as Marui went to his locker. Niou put an arm around Yukimura's shoulders and whispered, "Yukimura, he needs the gum."

"Why?" Yukimura asked dumbly.

"Mint gum for that post blowjob breath."

Yukimura half-gagged, then realized Niou was kidding. He rolled his eyes and went to change as far away from Niou as possible. The clubroom door opened again, and Akaya walked in, heading straight towards Yukimura.

"Can we talk?" Akaya asked as Yukimura struggled to undo his pants.

"What do you want to talk about, Akaya?" Yukimura asked. He pulled his shirt up over his head. The next thing Yukimura knew, Akaya was holding out a small bag of chocolate. "I don't eat chocolate, Akaya. Besides, it'd be rude to Indian give chocolates a girl gave you."

"I bought them," Akaya said, "for you. They're nuts covered in dark chocolate."

Yukimura blinked. He took the small bag of chocolate and undid the ribbon at the top. He pulled out a piece and chewed it. He smiled.

"Thank you, Akaya," he said as he tied the top back up and knelt down to put them in his bag. "That was thoughtful."

_Just go away, _Yukimura pleaded_. Go away and leave me alone. Don't make me fall for you again. Don't make a scene. I can't handle people knowing about you, about us, about what we were, about what I wish we still were._

"I like you," Akaya said softly. Under his breath, so only Yukimura could hear, he said, "I still like you."

"I like you too?" Yukimura said nervously.

"No. I mean... I like you like you. Like how those girls like you."

Yukimura froze. "What," he began, dropping his voice so only Akaya heard the last part, "in the world are you pulling?"

"I said I like you, Buchou."

"Akaya..." Yukimura glanced at Marui and Niou, who were standing hip-to-hip with their arms crossed. He looked back at Akaya who mumbled something. "Akaya, what did you say?"

"Say no. I don't care. I'll still like you."

Yukimura didn't say anything. He couldn't even if he wanted to. If he opened his mouth, he was sure it would find Akaya's. He went back to changing.

.

At the end of practice, Yukimura rushed out of the locker room to get home and sleep. His head ached. He needed to be alone. Half way home, he realized he had forgotten a textbook in his locker. He turned around and swore, realizing he didn't see Akaya when he doubled back. Was he still in the clubroom?

Yukimura let himself in the clubroom, quickly opening his locker. He made a disgusted noise. His locker was filled with chewed gum and a note. He picked up the note, thankful there was no gum on that.

_Happy V-day!_

_Love,  
M. & J._

"Marui-senpai and Jackal-senpai did it," a voice said. "I told them not to, but they said it was because you were mean to me."

Yukimura turned and saw Akaya. "What are you still doing here?"

"I was doing homework. My sister makes too much noise. The library is close for repairs so I just stayed here," he explained. "I'm sorry about the chocolates. I figured it would –"

Yukimura caved. He walked forward, cupping Akaya's face in his hands. He gently pressed their lips together, but only for a second. Then he pulled back and shook his head, as though he was fighting a mental battle. "I shouldn't, Akaya, I shouldn't have done that. I –"

It was Akaya who cut off Yukimura this time. He pressed his lips to Yukimura, gripping the front of his captain's shirt. "You can do it again. You can do it as long as you like," Akaya whispered against his lips.

Yukimura tried to gently nudge Akaya away, but the second year didn't move. When Akaya pressed their lips together again, Yukimura shoved him so hard he hit the lockers.

"Don't!" Yukimura shouted. He gripped his head. He felt like someone had taken out his skull. "You're messing with my head!"

"I want to be back together. I won't hurt you, Yukimura, I promise. _Please_."

"Leave me alone!"

Akaya grabbed his bag and hurried out. He swore a million times. That was the mistake of the millennium.

* * *

**A/N: ****This chapter matches up with chapter 15 of GiL. Yukimura turns into a nice guy in chapter 48. Be warned, I will be skipping huge spans of time over the next few chapters. I also decided not to include every scene from GiL that had Yukimura or Akaya – only the important ones.**


	31. Chapter 31

**- 31 -**

Yukimura was lying on his bed when Yanagi and Sanada walked through his door. Yukimura would have sat up, but he didn't have the energy. He hugged his Luigi pillow tight against his chest. It had been a birthday present from Akaya, who had the matching Mario.

"Akaya has called us thirty-six times since Valentine's Day, trying to figure out what happened," Yanagi said as he sat on the edge of Yukimura's bed. "He refuses to tell us what happened, but he's hysterical so we can assume."

"I kissed him again. Why do I keep kissing him?" Yukimura mumbled. "I kissed him and he kissed me, and I pushed him away. I don't want to get hurt by him again."

"He misses you," Sanada said. Sanada didn't really believe in love, but it was obvious that Yukimura and Akaya cared for each other. If that was how they perceived love, so be it. "He thinks your toying with him."

"Me?" Yukimura sat up, nearly ripping off Luigi's nose. "Are you joking? He keeps –"

"You keep changing your mind. He has made his up. He wants you back," Yanagi said. "The chance of him being confused because of your actions is extremely high."

Yukimura pulled his knees into his chest, resting his head on them. "It's Niou and Marui. I keep thinking that that could be Akaya and me. It's driving me insane, making me regret everything..."

"There's a rule," Sanada said slowly, ignoring Yanagi's glare, "that says if a relationship between one or more members cause problems for the team, the captain can give them an ultimatum. The definition of relationship is loose. It could apply to Niou and Marui."

"Genchirou, you can't be serious," Yanagi said. "That's insane. They love each other. Forcing them to choose between tennis and each other...? I thought you were better than that."

"I'm not saying he has to enforce the rule –"

"I am," Yukimura mumbled. "If I can't have Akaya, then Niou can't have Marui. It's as simple as that."

.

Yanagi sat in his room that night, going over the chances of this being a success or not. He didn't admit it, but he had a soft spot for Niou and Marui. Marui had always been his friend, and Yukimura was going to drive the two apart.

Yanagi picked up his phone. After several rings, he heard, "Yanagi-senpai?"

"Seiichi is giving Niou and Marui an ultimatum. You need to call Seiichi. You're the only one who can convince him to stop."

Yanagi hung up without another word. Akaya stared at his phone, and then dialed a number he knew by heart.

"Kiri –" Yukimura stopped himself. He had picked up the habit of calling Akaya "Kirihara" at practice. He couldn't bring himself to do it when he wasn't surrounded by others. "Akaya?"

"What ultimatum are you giving Niou and Marui-senpai?" Akaya demanded to know. "Something about breaking up or quitting, am I right?"

"How did you –"

"Yanagi-senpai told me," Akaya cut in. "If you break them up, I'll quit the team. I will never talk to you again. So if you still love me, even just a bit, don't do this."

Yukimura felt his chest tighten. Love. The one thing he never told Akaya, the one thing that kept them from moving their relationship to the next step months ago. He had wanted to say it. He still wanted to say it sometimes.

"Akaya," Yukimura began, "I will give Niou and Marui the ultimatum. If they chose they break up, I am sure that Niou will go to you. Tell him the team will vote in that case. If they quit the team, then so be it."

Yukimura hung up.

* * *

**A/N: Drama? Yup.  
**


	32. Chapter 32

**- 32 -**

"I want to talk to you two after practice," Yukimura said to Niou and Marui.

Practice seemed to drag on forever. Yukimura sat out, the pain killers for his head making him too dizzy to even run laps. Eventually, practice ended and everyone but Niou, Marui and Yukimura had left.

"What do you want to talk to us about?" Niou asked, leaning against the locker.

Yukimura sat on a bench, his hands clapped together. He twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I want you two to break up, or to quit the team."

"Quit?" Marui asked. His jaw practically hit the floor.

Yukimura nodded. "Yes. You see, there is no point to keep you on the team. Nationals are over, and you have already turned Kirihara-kun into… _you_…"

_It's all your fault._

Marui took a step forward, a fist raised, but Niou stopped him. "Stop it, Marui," he said, not letting go even after the red head lowered his fist. "We didn't make him gay."

A silence followed Niou's words. That's when Yukimura remembered that they didn't know the truth. It was jealously that led him to this decision, not prejudice like they thought.

"You can't make us quit," Marui finally said.

"Yes, I can. I checked the rule book. Genchirou approves."

"Sanada!" Niou shouted, kicking the nearest locker. "That bastard – I'll kill him!"

"I'll give you time to think, but I think the choice is obvious." Yukimura shrugged. "Break up or give up the one thing that gives you a little niche in this school."

"Screw you," Marui said as he turned around.

Marui left, but Niou took a minute.

The trickster turned to Yukimura. "Yukimura, I pray that you find peace with the world you live in," Niou said, but he also added, "I also pray a flower pot falls from a windowsill and nobody calls you when you really need it. I pray that the brakes on your bus stop working when you go down a hill. I pray you pass out drunk with some guy later in life and wake up next to him, naked. Trust, I'll pray."

And then, he left.

Yukimura stared at the door they walked through. He grabbed his head.

.

Akaya was sitting in his bedroom when Niou barged through the door. Akaya opened his mouth to say hello, but Niou kicked the door shut behind him and locked it before Akaya could say anything.

"You look mad," Akaya murmured. "Are you going to kill me?"

"No, I'm not going to kill you."

"Then what's wrong?" Akaya asked as Niou sat on his bed.

"I think Marui and I just broke up."

"Broke up?" Akaya couldn't believe his own mouth. "_Broke up?_"

Niou just sat there, silent. He wanted so badly to say something, that it wasn't his fault, that things just happen, but he couldn't form the words. He felt like he was drowning.

"What do you mean?" Akaya was screaming. He didn't know why. Marui and Niou were so like him and Yukimura. He couldn't imagine them being apart. "You two were… perfect."

Niou stared. "You do realize we're not even able to drive. We weren't going to be together forever. We just planned on spending as much time together as possible..."

He trailed off and everything went blurry. Then he felt some roll down his face. He reached up, and wiped away a tear.

"What the -?" Niou rubbed his eyes, his cheeks turning red. "Hell no. I don't –"

"You love him," Akaya said softly. "I know people say we're young and stupid, that we don't know what we're doing. Hell, I think I'm gay for a 'homophobe.' Does that make me stupid?" He paused. "Don't answer that."

Niou rubbed at his eyes, as if his hands would make the tears stop. "I don't give a crap if Marui's gone. We've fought before, why should I care now?"

"Then why are you crying?" Akaya shot back. Niou glared at him, and then started saying something, but it came out like he was choking. Akaya shook his head. "Senpai, I think of you guys like the brothers I never had. My sister is anything but a princess, and you guys taught me what older siblings were supposed to."

Niou stopped rubbing his eyes. "What the heck are you talking about? We gave you a swirly and you got a concussion! What does this have to do with Marui and me anyways? Why am I even here? I don't give a crap about this; I'm leaving."

Then, just as Niou stood up to make a run for the door, Akaya said, "I threatened to quit the team, and Buchou said we would put it up to a team vote tomorrow, so just... just come to practice."

Then Niou left, smiling as he slammed the door up to keep his damn pride.

* * *

**A/N: Grrr. **


	33. Chapter 33

**- 33 -**

Niou was sitting on the ground of the locker room, his back pressed against the wall. Yagyuu stood on one side of him, while Akaya sat next to him. Marui and Jackal entered silently and sat on a bench, Marui shooting a desperate look at Niou.

Yanagi, Sanada and Yukimura entered moments later. Yukimura stumbled when he walked, like he had taken a strong pill. No one seemed to notice. No one but Akaya.

"Due to recent circumstances," Yukimura began, his words short and choppy, "we need to vote on something. Genchirou."

Sanada nodded and handed a piece of paper and a pan, and then took off his hat.

"What are we voting on?" Yagyuu asked curiously.

"Whether you want me to quit so Niou and Marui to be together, or if you want Kirihara to quit, me to stay, and them to be apart."

Akaya stood up rather violently. "That wasn't the deal!"

Their deal had been if Niou and Marui broke up, Akaya would quite. Yukimura smiled weakly. "This is still my team, not yours. Please explain the rest, Renji."

Yanagi nodded, but his face gave him away. He didn't want this. "Write your choice, then fold the paper and place it in the hat. We will call out the vote and the results will be put into effect immediately."

"Did you ever think we don't want to be together?" Marui asked. He was glaring at Yukimura. "Did you ever get your head out of your ass and think that maybe this was a scam to piss you off?"

Yukimura knew it wasn't. They looked at each other like he looked at Akaya. He could allow them to be together. Yanagi would lie for them, for Marui, his friend. Yukimura could feel his head ache through the pain killers.

Yukimura looked at Yanagi and gave a slight nod that no one seemed to notice.

Yanagi opened a notebook he had brought with him. Had Yanagi known Yukimura would give up his own sanity for Niou and Marui? That he would back off and allow Niou and Marui to be together?

"Chance of their relationship being a sham –" Yanagi paused. Yukimura snapped something about the data, just for show. Yanagi continued: "Chance of their relationship being a sham, 98 percent."

Akaya was sitting close to Niou, as if to protect him from a lion. Marui didn't look like he had even cried.

Yukimura pressed his lips together. "Fine. But, if I see you so much as touch hands, you'll both be off this team before you can say 'Seigaku.' Do you understand me?"

Yukimura turned a left. Sanada awkwardly took his hat back, following him.

"You didn't need to do that," Sanada said when the door shut behind them.

Yukimura laughed bitterly. "Maybe they can be so happy it affects me."

Akaya left a minute later, confused beyond belief. Niou and Marui stayed inside.

* * *

**A/N: Whoop-de-freaking-do.  
**


End file.
